Hammers News

Not for the first time, a thrilling London derby between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur could prove the turning point in a Premier League survival battle.

When Alphonse Areola clattered into Morgan Gibbs-White on January 6th – a late penalty seeing relegation rivals Nottingham Forest deliver a seemingly fatal blow – West Ham United found themselves seven points adrift of the Midlanders, plus a further 13 points behind Tottenham Hotspur.

Two months on, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now level with Forest in 17th. Not only that, the gap between themselves and a free-falling Spurs stands at a measly two points.

Three HUGE points 😍 Rate West Ham’s chances of survival in just one word 👇

As turnarounds go, West Ham’s form since matchday 22 is up there with Adam Sandler’s late-career evolution from Razzie regular to Critics’ Choice nominee.

Momentum is with Nuno’s West Ham United in Premier League relegation battle

Crysencio Summerville scored the winner at Fulham on Wednesday night. While Nottingham Forest’s stirring fightback at the Etihad scrubbed away some of the shine, the momentum is very much with the East Londoners right now.

From matchday 22 onwards, West Ham have picked up 14 points from eight games.

That is twice the amount Forest have accumulated in the same period, and a staggering 12 more than bitter rivals Tottenham. In fact, no team has performed worse than Spurs since mid-January.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

If that heartbreaking home loss to Nottingham Forest felt like the final arrow fired into Hammers hearts, then it is fitting that another ‘Great Escape’ appears to have been ignited by a dramatic away victory at the home of their most hated opponents.

A Spurs side they have plunged into the deepest recesses of the abyss.

Callum Wilson’s Spurs winner a turning point for both clubs

Callum Wilson was fairly anonymous at Fulham, yes; only ten touches and two shots in 60 minutes of action. But, in hindsight, his scrambled, stoppage time winner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 17th may have been the moment when Andy Dufresne’s rock hammer first started chipping away at the wall behind Rita Hayworth.

And the Germans would probably have to come up with a whole new word – überschadenfreude, perhaps – if it turns out that West Ham kick-started Tottenham’s downfall on that potentially season-shifting afternoon in North London.

In March 2007, West Ham were staring relegation in the face after Paul Stalteri broke Hammers’ hearts with a stoppage-time winner in a 4-3 Spurs triumph at Upton Park.

As he would later explain on James Richardson’s Totally Extra podcast though, former boss Alan Curbishley felt that performance was a turning point in their campaign; the sort of performance a team down and out can take heart and belief from, and use as fuel to mount a Hollywood-ian comeback.

Nineteen years later, another London derby meeting with Tottenham could have massive repercussions on both sides of the city.

West Ham United gleefully took their opportunity to mock bitter rivals Tottenham with a relegation chant of their own following their win over Fulham.

Only a few days after sections of the Liverpool support told West Ham United fans they were going down, some of the Hammers who travelled to Craven Cottage turned their attention on that front to Spurs.

Who was your MOTM against Fulham and why? 🤔

Indeed, a Crysencio Summerville goal proved enough as West Ham United beat Fulham 1-0 in a huge result at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now just a point behind Spurs in the relegation battle, and Irons fans were keen to remind them of that.

West Ham fans chant “Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you”

Following what was a nervy win at Craven Cottage, some of the West Ham fans who made the short trip across London were eager to celebrate.

As relayed by Peter Smith of Sky Sports, fans chanted: “We’re coming for you, Tottenham Hotspur we’re coming for you.”

A big call from Nuno! What did you make of JC?!

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

The pressure on Spurs is now huge. They are in genuine free fall right now and failing to beat Crystal Palace on Thursday night would only deepen it.

While this has been a miserable season for West Ham until reasonably recently, the idea of catching Spurs is surely enough to save it.

The momentum is with them in the relegation battle, even if there are some hard fixtures to come.

When West Ham could overtake Tottenham in the Premier League table

The Premier League is on a pause this coming weekend as the FA Cup takes centre stage, with West Ham up against Brentford in the fifth round.

After that, however, the Hammers welcome Manchester City on Saturday, 14 March, 2026.

Clearly, that looks like a very difficult game but Nottingham Forest did manage to hold Pep Guardiola’s side to a draw on Wednesday.

If they can get an admittedly unlikely victory, West Ham could be out of the relegation zone by the time Spurs play Liverpool the following day.

It’s all heating up nicely.

Carlton Cole remains one of the more popular strikers of the modern era at West Ham United, but his career could have looked very different had Roman Abramovich not scotched a move from Chelsea to Tottenham Hotspur.

Last summer, Mohammed Kudus became the first player to join Spurs from the Hammers since Scott Parker 14 years previously.

It has been even longer since anyone left another London giant for Tottenham. Gus Poyet, back in 2001, is still the most recent transfer between Chelsea and their rivals from the north. Two years before Roman Abramovich completed his takeover of the Stamford Bridge outfit, and forever changed the face of English football.

🎶 Always believe in Carlton Cole! 🎶

How does Cole rank among your favourite West Ham strikers?

Abramovich already had a very strained relationship with Tottenham by the time Carlton Cole underwent a medical at White Hart Lane in 2005. According to Sky Sports, Martin Jol’s Spurs were on the verge of signing the Chelsea academy graduate for £2 million on a four-year deal.

Fortunately for West Ham United, Abramovich called off that arrangement as soon as he became aware of it. Cole would move to another London outfit just one year later.

West Ham United icon Carlton Cole remembers his failed Tottenham transfer

While not a prolific goalscorer, Carlton Cole was ‘unplayable’ on his day in a claret and blue jersey. He would go on to score 68 goals across nearly 300 games and during almost a decade’s worth of service.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

One can only imagine how differently his career would have mapped out had Abramovich been a more forgiving character.

“Before I went on holiday, I did my medical at Spurs!” Cole says opposite Adebayo Akinfenwa on his Beast Mode On podcast. “I remember I’d done everything, was about to sign, under Martin Jol. So I’ve gone, done the medical and everything.

“That’s when I got the Abramovich phone call. He told me, ‘he doesn’t do business with Spurs’. That’s why I didn’t go to Spurs. I was going to go to Spurs!

“Remember, before he bought Chelsea, he was going to buy Spurs. The way it happened, he went in a helicopter to London because he wanted to buy a football club. Spurs were the one that stuck out to him. He did the deal with Spurs, someone up top changed the deal that he’d agreed on buying it for, and then he’s like: ‘I can’t do business like this’.

“So he says, we’ll go Chelsea and buy that!'”

Roman Abramovich refused to let Spurs buy the Stamford Bridge kid

Cole remembers being extremely frustrated by Abramovich’s insistence that he return to West London, not to mention the threat of a loan stint in faraway Russia.

“Tottenham came back to Chelsea and said, ‘We want some money off [the price] because we found something in his knee’. [Abramovich] said; ‘No, we aren’t doing a deal with Spurs so you better come back. I’ll send him on loan to CSKA Moscow’,” Cole recalls, speaking as his old employers prepare to face Liverpool on Saturday.

Only two Liverpool stars have a HIGHER FotMob rating than Matty! 🤯

Surely you wouldn't swap him for Gravenberch?

“I was p***** off! ‘You lot are doing me dirty here!’You’re not playing me and you’re not letting me go where I want to go. What are we doing here? You want to send me to Russia?’

“So I went away to clear my head, I went to Sierra Leone. Then I get the phone call, ‘we’ve got something else for you, West Ham’.

And that was it. I came back. As soon as I landed, I signed; a West Ham player.”

Flash forward twenty years, and the former England international is still earning a living with the Hammers. He is currently the club’s Loans and Pathways Manager, responsible for the development of an exciting crop of academy kids.

Cole believes Mohamadou Kante is the ‘shining beacon’ of this current generation, though Ezra Mayers, Preston Fearon, Daniel Cummings and Joel Ajala have all made big strides forward themselves in recent times.

The punishment being predicted for Manchester City over the 115 charges could save West Ham, Spurs or Nottingham Forest from relegation, says football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

The Hammers, bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest suddenly have 100 million reasons to take a keen interest in the verdict in the Premier League’s case against Manchester City.

Staying aboard the Premier League gravy train is said to be worth at least £100m per season – although for the likes of West Ham and Spurs that figure is probably even higher.

The Irons, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest are a world away from being able to compete with Man City.

Mega Man City points deduction could see them relegated instead of West Ham, Spurs or Forest

While Pep Guardiola’s side are going for another title, it is looking like West Ham, Tottenham and Forest are in a three-way battle to avoid filling the last relegation spot.

But now Man City could directly impact the outcome of that scrap.

This is shocking! 😰 Relegation is going to be dire for West Ham…

What would YOU do to avoid this mess?

Man City and the Premier League have been waiting 14 months for the verdict in the case around the Etihad side’s alleged 115 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

Prominent football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed Manchester City could be deducted 40 to 60 points if they are found guilty of some of the most serious charges against them.

And that is where West Ham, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest will now be taking a very keen interest in the outcome.

The hearing into Manchester City’s alleged breaches actually concluded over a year ago in December 2024 following a 12-week tribunal. But the independent commission is still yet to make its conclusion public.

While Man City have denied any wrongdoing and are understood to be confident of being cleared, Maguire predicts heavy fines and/or a massive points deduction will be meted out if the hearing goes against them.

And that is where West Ham, Tottenham or Forest could benefit most.

Docking 40-60 points from Man City could be applied to this season, says Maguire

Maguire told The Overlap that a verdict should come within the next few months, with Manchester City and the Premier League likely to get 24 hours’ notice before it is made public.

Basing his assessment on precedents set involving the likes of Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, who were docked six and four points respectively, Maguire says a zero can realistically be added on the end for any Man City points deduction.

How do these appointments make you feel about the relegation battle? 👀

What is unclear is whether any punishment is handed down THIS season.

So Hammers News reached out to Maguire for clarity on that point.

And the three relegation rivals West Ham, Spurs and Forest will be encouraged by his answer, although there are avenues open to Man City if the panel do dish out a points deduction.

Hammers News asked Maguire whether his predicted deduction of between 40-60 points could be applied to the current season.

“Potentially yes,” Maguire exclusively told Hammers News.

“But they (Man City) could appeal.”

Man City are currently second in the Premier League table on 56 points with 11 games to go.

That is a potential 33 points. Even Man City won every game to end on 89 points – a deduction of 60 points would leave them on 29 – the same number Spurs currently have and four more than the Hammers.

Assuming West Ham, Forest and Tottenham will be adding to the tallies in the race to get to 40 points, such a punishment – if handed down this season – would see Man City relegated.

How that would work if Man City then appeal is anyone’s guess.

That is why a verdict is surely needed sooner rather than later to avoid an unholy mess come the summer.

Former West Ham United midfielder Don Hutchison believes the Hammers are still more likely to go down than Tottenham.

While the wins have dried up of late, West Ham United continued their run of reasonably good form by drawing 0-0 with Bournemouth on Saturday.

Things are looking up 😍 So who are we sending down to the Championship?!

Forest? Leeds?……Spurs? 🙏

It means Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are just two points from safety in the Premier League, and four from a Tottenham side in genuine freefall.

However, Hutchison still believes Spurs are more likely to beat the drop.

Don Hutchison gives West Ham a 40% chance of being relegated – and Tottenham just 20%

The former Hammers midfielder believes West Ham and Nottingham Forest both share a 40% chance of being relegated. Spurs, meanwhile, are handed just a 20% chance.

The pundit was asked for his prediction on who would be relegated. In response he wrote on X: “40% West Ham, 40% Forest, 20% Spurs.”

Hutchison did also add that he hoped West Ham avoided the drop, however.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

“All three have a really hard run in. Ovs I’m keeping everything crossed for West Ham mate.”

The fact that West Ham are even in this position is a testament to the fine work they’ve done in recent weeks.

While it doesn’t make up for the misery that they put supporters through during most of the first half of the season, they have at least responded in recent weeks.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

What the experts are saying about West Ham’s chances of getting relegated this season

Following a recent turnaround in form, West Ham fans are starting to dream of Premier League survival.

Nuno’s side are certainly making a fist of it. Indeed, they could feasibly be out of the relegation zone by Saturday evening, should they beat Liverpool at Anfield – which will clearly be tough.

However, given this was a team that looked dead and buried as recently as mid-January, it’s an impressive turnaround.

With that in mind, it’s interesting to see what the experts are saying. According to the analysts at Opta, West Ham still have a 78.82% chance of being relegated.

Forest are handed a 23.24% chance of it, while Spurs are given just a 4.84% chance.

Still, there is little to suggest that Tottenham will get more points than West Ham during the final 11 games of the season.

They are in a better position right now but all the momentum is with Nuno’s side.

It’s going to be fascinating to see what unfolds.

Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood have warned Tottenham Hotspur should fear relegation from the Premier League more than West Ham.

West Ham and bitter rivals Spurs are in what now looks to be a four-team battle to avoid filling the Premier League’s final relegation place.

With Burnley and Wolves all but down, the Hammers, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds are in a dogfight to survive.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham currently sit in 18th place, two points off Forest in 17th and four points off Tottenham in 16th.

Spurs in trouble as West Ham rise claim Redknapp and Sherwood

Despite statistics showing Spurs are the worst team in the top flight this year, their chances of actually being relegated have been downplayed by most.

Except Tim Sherwood and Harry Redknapp.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

Ex Hammers player and manager Redknapp has pulled no punches in his assessment of the situation.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Redknapp admitted he wanted the chance to return to Spurs as interim boss for the rest of the season.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

He wants West Ham and Tottenham to stay up given his divided loyalties to both.

West Ham can benefit as Redknapp warns of ‘big Spurs gamble’

But he says Tottenham have taken a huge gamble which may backfire in West Ham’s favour by appointing Igor Tudor.

“They’ve (Spurs) brought somebody in haven’t they but nobody knew him,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.

“He’s had lots of jobs and been around the block a bit but never managed in England, the guy Tudor, so it’s a big gamble.

“It’s a great job for somebody for next year, if they go down they’ll come back up, they could (go down), I think they’ll be alright but I’ve got a foot in both camps with West Ham, I want them to stay up as well so I’m hoping that both teams stay up.

“But then that leaves Nottingham Forest, who are a great club. But one of the three of them are going to go, I don’t see anybody else.”

How do YOU look back on Jermain Defoe?

Did he ruin his legacy?

Former Tottenham player and manager Sherwood went one further than Redknapp, pointing out that West Ham are a team on the up while Tottenham are in freefall.

While Sherwood said Spurs have an advantage because they have points in the bag over the Hammers, he believes Tottenham simply don’t have the players for a relegation scrap.

Sherwood: Organised West Ham have more fight than Tottenham

“They’re (Tottenham) in a fight now,” Sherwood said on Sky Sports News.

“And have they got enough fight in their bellies, the same as them other sides as we’re seeing?

“I certainly have been watching recently West Ham, who are in the worst position out of everyone because they’re in it, they look like they’ve got some organisation and they’ve got some real fight in their bellies.

“The next two games are going to be so crucial for Tottenham… they need to get points and they need to get them quick.

“Because if they really get into trouble and West Ham start picking up points and they get right behind them (in the table), I’m not sure they’ve got the players for the fight, I don’t really believe they have.

“Because a lot of players come to Tottenham not for a relegation battle, so they’re going to have to find something from somewhere. I believed they would have enough but I think it’s probably my heart ruling my head there.”

Remaining fixtures in the Premier League relegation battle:

West Ham United have more chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League this season than Tottenham, according to Jamie O’Hara.

West Ham, of course, sit four points and two places below rivals Spurs in the Premier League table with only 11 games left to play this season.

Still, former Spurs midfielder O’Hara believes that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently look much more likely to retain their Premier League status due to their fighting spirit.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

The Hammers are at least showing signs of life in the relegation battle, while Spurs look to be sleepwalking towards the drop.

Speaking on talkSPORT, O’Hara said: “Seriously, I’m genuinely worried about going down. Because, West Ham – alright, look, we watched them and they’re not great – but they’ve got a bit of fight about them.

“Summerville, they’ve got some decent players. Bowen [too].

“Nottingham Forest battered Liverpool, alright they didn’t win but I feel like they’ve got something about them. This Tottenham team, mate, have got absolutely nothing about them.”

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

Jamie O’Hara thinks West Ham have more fighting spirit than Tottenham

Frankly, he’s not wrong.

Six games feels like a strong enough sample size from which to draw a conclusion and that particular period has been kind to West Ham, while dreadful for Spurs.

The Irons might have dropped points to Chelsea and Manchester United but have still amassed 11 points over that period.

That puts them sixth in the form table, while Spurs sit 19th after six games without a victory.

With the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville stepping up to the plate, all the momentum is with West Ham United right now.

Indeed, Tottenham have been called the worst team in the Premier League this season and it’s difficult to disagree.

The West Ham vs Spurs rivalry runs incredibly deep and the idea of staying up at their expense will be particularly sweet for supporters here in east London.

It is of course difficult to quantify fighting spirit. However, there has been a resilience to the way in which West Ham have improved since the dreadful defeats to Wolves and Nottingham Forest in January.

Though Nuno’s side are not out of the woods yet, they’ve started pulling themselves out a hole. Spurs, on the other hand, are in genuine freefall.

West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur find themselves at the wrong end of the table for the second season running but this time the chance of relegation is very real indeed.

Last season the Hammers and Spurs were fortunate that the three promoted teams were so poor they went straight back down without so much as a fight.

Tottenham were officially the worst team in the Premier League outside the relegated clubs as they finished 17th while West Ham ended the campaign three places above them.

This time around, West Ham and Spurs don’t have that safety net and the relegation dogfight looks like being between the two wildly underperforming London rivals, Nottingham Forest and Leeds to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in the Championship.

West Ham can pile pressure on Premier League’s worst team Spurs

There are mixed feelings in West Ham circles this week after the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth.

While it proved to be a point gained on Tottenham and Forest, who lost to Arsenal and Liverpool respectively, there is a nagging feeling that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side should have piled more pressure on by closing the gap further.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

West Ham are still the favourites to drop with a 50 per cent probability according to analysts.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

Many pundits, journalists and observers feel Tottenham will be fine in the end and have the quality to get themselves out of danger.

But West Ham simply must capitalise as a journalist makes a damning Spurs claim.

Statisticians forecast very early into the new campaign that a higher than usual number of points will be required to stay up due to the increased competitiveness of the division.

The benchmark of 40 points to survive in the 20-team Premier League has not been needed for well over a decade.

The number has dropped significantly in the last 12 or 13 years but analysts have warned all season that something like that figure may well be needed this time around.

West Ham on the up while Spurs spiral towards disaster

West Ham’s board have opened up on their fears over the survival points total required as they battle Tottenham, Forest and Leeds to avoid demotion to the Championship.

The Irons are at a disadvantage as they are two points from safety and four off Tottenham ahead of the last 11 games.

How do YOU look back on Jermain Defoe?

Did he ruin his legacy?

But Nuno and his side should take real encouragement from how Spurs are starting to be viewed in what promises to be a fraught survival scrap.

Evening Standard reporter Sam Tabuteau has declared Tottenham are the worst team in the Premier League.

And he has provided the stats to back up his claim.

“With West Ham having lost just one of their last eight games in all competitions, and Nottingham Forest looking revitalised under their new manager Vitor Pereira, Spurs do not have the safety buffer they had last season,” Tabuteau says.

“Spurs remain the only team yet to win a Premier League game in 2026. They are in relegation form and, with even Wolves picking up under Rob Edwards and Burnley showing some fight, there is an argument that they are the worst team in the division right now.”

This is the perfect example of the kind of intense pressure that Tottenham will feel more than any of their relegation rivals.

Nuno will be hoping that pressure, coupled with Spurs’ injury crisis and their unpreparedness for a relegation battle can cripple their bitter foes.

But West Ham really must start turning up when it matters in order to ratchet up the pressure on Tottenham.

Because it will be difficult for interim boss Igor Tudor to transform the north Londoners from the ‘worst team’ in the Premier League to one capable of getting themselves out of two-year downward spiral.

As if the prospect of relegating a bitter rival was not enough to spark West Ham United’s bloodlust, the prospect of having the last laugh over Mohammed Kudus should make even the most mild-mannered supporter froth at the mouth.

Justice, indeed.

Mohammed Kudus secured himself a spot alongside Dimitri Payet in a list of the most unpopular former West Ham United players last summer. Kudus became the first Hammer to join Tottenham Hotspur since Scott Parker 14 years prior; the snake of Marseille finding himself a slippery, slithering brother in the process.

Oh no, Mo… 🤣

How will YOU celebrate if Tottenham go down? 🎉 🍾

Now, Thomas Frank didn’t get much right during his disastrous stint in the Spurs dugout. But he was correct in predicting that Kudus would be greeted by a ‘hostile’ reception on his return to the London Stadium last September.

If Spurs’ eventual 3-0 win made the Ghana international feel his decision to cross the divide was justified – it is easy to forget that Frank actually made a very positive start before things unravelled – then the state of play five months later gives West Ham the opportunity to exact brutal revenge.

West Ham United could send Tottenham Hotspur and Mohammed Kudus down

Both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham suffered nightmarish defeats on Sunday. Forest suffered the ignominy of a 97th minute Alexis Mac Allister winner. For Spurs, their supporters could do nothing but watch on in horror as Arsenal twisted the knife; ‘oles’ echoing around a half-empty stadium as the Gunners cruised to a 4-1 win.

So while West Ham missed an opportunity against Bournemouth – failing to break the deadlock despite reporting an XG of 3.15 – Nuno Espirito Santo’s team still ended the weekend having made progress on their two relegation rivals.

There are only four points separating West Ham and Kudus’ 16th-placed Spurs.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

And when reflecting on Kudus’ first few words as a Tottenham player, shortly after that £54.5 million deal was completed in June 2025, it is almost impossible not to chuckle at the sheer naivety of it.

Thomas Frank played a massive role in Kudus’ move to Spurs

Kudus joined Tottenham to perform ‘at the highest level’. Unless their interim head coach can become the most successful Tudor this isle has seen since Queen Elizabeth I vanquished the Spanish Armada, Kudus could go from the Champions League to the Championship; his old employers from the East escaping the drop at Spurs’ expense.

Furthermore, Kudus also spoke glowingly about Thomas Frank and the role he played luring the former Ajax forward to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As it transpired, Kudus would play under 26 matches under a coach who recorded a lower win rate [26 per cent] than Gianfranco Zola and Julen Lopetegui mustered at West Ham.

“I’ve always wanted to play at the highest level,” Kudus said last summer; obviously completely blind as to the disaster to come. “[I wanted to join Tottenham because of] how big the club is, the history, the Champions League as well.

“The most important part of why I came here was the project, how the manager [Frank] sees that I can develop under him. Where he has come from, seeing the amount of talent he has developed to become good players…

“It’s a big [reason] why I wanted to [work] under him.”

On reflection, this reads like an interview of someone excitedly loading their baggage onto the Titanic in April 1912, rambling eagerly about how much they were looking forward to seeing New York.

Time will tell if that North London Derby disaster is the iceberg which brings about the doom of what was once one of the Premier League’s most impenetrable ships.

Should Tottenham sink, as Kudus and co leap for the life rafts, don’t expect too much mourning from West Ham.

Football is a game of opinions, and it just so happens that many West Ham United supporters appear to be siding with Bobby Zamora rather than Nuno Espirito Santo.

Scorer of 40 goals for the East London outfit between 2004 and 2008, Zamora knows a thing or two about leading the line in claret and blue.

And he feels that Nuno would benefit from starting Callum Wilson alongside Taty Castellanos, rather than introducing the former off the bench in a desperate pursuit of a game-winning goal. Zamora’s argument is fuelled by the fact that, only moments after coming on in the second half of Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, Wilson very nearly broke the deadlock.

What to do with Wilson? ⚒️

Start him? Or keep him as an impact sub?

An instinctive flicked effort at the front post kept out by a flying Djordje Petrovic. It was only last month, meanwhile, when Wilson’s stoppage-time heroics stunned Tottenham Hotspur. He possesses the best goals-per-minutes ratio of any player in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.

West Ham United fans want Callum Wilson to start against Liverpool

But therein lies the dilemma. At the age of 33, is Wilson better suited to life as an impact sub; protecting his ageing limbs and unleashing him in short bursts?

Or, because Pablo Felipe faces another few weeks out with a calf injury, should Nuno instead be looking to play Wilson for the first hour rather than the last half-hour, starting with Liverpool at Anfield next time out?

“[Nuno] should have started Wilson as he’s the natural goal poacher. Taty is a good ball chaser but not as good as Wilson as a striker. When he came, on he had two shots straight away,” one Hammers News reader writes on our Facebook page./

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

“Callum knows the score playing Liverpool,” another says, Wilson having scored a staggering 11 goals in 16 matches against the Premier League champions. “He must start with Taty.”

“Should have played two up top from the start. Nuno is too negative.”

“We have been better and more threatening when we have had two up front. Either Taty and Pablo or Taty and Wilson. Need that for the remainder of the run in!”

“Should have started both [Wilson and Castellanos]. Would have been the difference.”

“Well-battled point. Need to start with two up front.”

Wilson role divides fans as Hammers fail to break Bournemouth resolve

The Hammers won three out of four Premier League matches – against Tottenham, Sunderland and Burnley – when Nuno played two strikers from the first whistle. With only Taty starting against Man United and Bournemouth, they have picked up just two points while scoring only two goals.

On the other hand, Wilson’s dramatic winner in the dying embers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium shows the benefits of introducing such a proven goal-poacher late in proceedings. Though it should be pointed out that was also a game in which Pablo featured alongside Castellanos.

“Callum Wilson definitely shouldn’t have started,” another fan argues. “He is an impact sub. He can’t play from the start, no matter how many people suggest it.

“He is leggy, offers no press and takes three or four chances to score. Should have done better with the chances he had [against Bournemouth].”

So close yet so far… 😮‍💨

What did you make of the stalemate with Bournemouth?

West Ham under pressure to pick up results against Liverpool and Manchester City

The aforementioned Bobby Zamora thinks the survival battle will drag on until the final day at this rate. Before Forest kicked off against Liverpool and Tottenham faced Arsenal in the North London derby, there were only four points separating 16th to 17th.

Though a daunting fixture schedule – Liverpool, Man City and Aston Villa to come in the next four weeks – does dent that confidence a little.

“Going to be very tight,” one Talking Point user believes. “Glad for the point.”

“We need to get a couple against some of the teams in top ten and then pick up some wins from bottom ten.”

“Leeds and Wolves are absolutely must wins.”

“Clean sheet, lots of chances created and looking more solid and robust than a few weeks ago. Bournemouth aren’t a bad side so I’m pleased with the draw.”

“In my opinion, it puts us in a position where we have to win two and draw one from Liverpool, Fulham, Man City and Aston Villa. Tall order. Very tall.”

“We looked solid and dangerous; a fair result. I feel the team now believe they won’t lose.”

“By far the better side against a side who are also on a great run. Loads of positives. We’ll be fine.”

“Just need to finish! We need to feed Taty in more as well, we rely too much on [Jarrod] Bowen and [Crysencio] Summerville. But we played well and, let’s be honest, our recent performances are night and day from what came before the improvements.

“I do think we are going to have to rely on others now.”